For many years, baths have been used as effective therapeutic tools for relieving aliments and increasing blood flow. One known type of bath is commonly referred to as an "air bath" and includes a plurality of air jets for agitating the water contained in a bath vessel. Air baths rely on the forced air and agitated water for providing the therapeutic benefit to the user. Air baths typically include a vessel for receiving a user and the water, a plurality of air channels fit to the outside and undersurface of the vessel and a source of pressurized air, such as an air blower, connected to the channels. The channels include a plurality of openings aligned with openings in the lower floor and/or sidewall of the vessel. The blower forces air into the channels and through the openings resulting in aeration and percolation of the water. A well known type of this bath is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,522 to Carrier, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Problems with these air baths result from the air distribution channels being positioned below the bottom of the vessel. These problems include an inability to completely drain water from the air channels after the air blower has stopped operating. Stagnant waste water within the air channels becomes putrid over time and creates health risks, unpleasant odors and unsightly air baths. Additionally, it is difficult to meet industry water retention standards using the plumbing of conventional air system baths. Moreover, conventional methods do not sufficiently clean these air baths and remove dirt, mildew and bacteria.
Attempts have been made to solve the problems associated with conventional air system baths. One such solution includes a drain valve assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,831 to Versland. The drain valve assembly includes a housing, a first valve for draining water from the bath and a second valve for draining water that has penetrated into the air distribution system. A lever positioned within the housing operates as an actuating means for lifting the first and second valve stems and opening the first and second valves. The lever is actuated by rotating a knob positioned on the side of the bath vessel. This prior art drain valve includes many intricate parts that are expensive to manufacture and assemble. Additionally, these parts provide more opportunity for the drain valve to fail. The many parts of this drain and its overall size also prohibit its use in small, compact areas. As a result, a consumer may be forced to choose between air baths based principally on the installation space required by the associated drain.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a drain valve that is compact and easily operated so that fluid pressure within an air distribution system is maintained when the valve is closed, and released when the valve is opened. It is further an object of the invention to provide a method of effectively cleansing the air channels of an air distribution system.